Hot spot for manifolds



Oct. 8, 1929. D. c. SOWELL 1,730,540

HOT SPOT Fofi MANIFOLDS Filed Dec. 17, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet l avwentoz Day/05 6. 5am

Oct. 8, 1929.

D. c. sowau. 1,730,540

HOT SPOT FOR MANIFOLDS Filed Dec. 17, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet, 2

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Patented 8, 15 259 UNETEQ STATES DOUGLAS C. SOWELL, OF THE UNITED STATES .f'aIRMY, BALTIMORE, MARYLAND HOT SPUT FOR MANIFOLDS Application filed December 17,1923. Serial No. 681,270.

(GRANTED UNDER THE ACT 0 MARCH 3, 1883, AS AMENDED APRIL 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) The invention described herein may be used by the Government or any of its officers or employes in prosecution of work for the Government, or by any other person in the United States, without payment of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to an improved means of vaporizing the liquid fuel for internal combustion engines and more particularly to that class of devices or attachment known as a hot-spot for manifolds, an object being to provide a simple, durable and an inexpensive device of the class described,- whereby the fuel of an internal combustion engine on its way from the carburetor to the c linders of the engines is brought into contact with a very highly heated surface which fully vaporizes the liquid fuel and thereby produces a more highly combustible fuel than one in which a percentage of the mixture remains in its liquid form.

A further object being to provide an attachment that may beeconomically made, in such shapes and sizes as to adapt its application to any of the manifolds now in use, at

very little cost, without requiring the services of a highly trained expert mechanic, and that will diminish the'consumption of liquid fuel material.

9 These and other objects will appear in the following specification and claims.

Similar numerals indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the improved hot-spot attachment showing parts of the exhaust manifold, the intake manifold, and the carburetor, of an internal combustion engine.

Fig. 2 is an edge view of the parts shown in Fig. 1.

F 3 is an enlarged elevation of the attachment with the outer or clean-out plate removed.

Fig. 4k is a vertical section on line 44 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a detail elevation of the inner surface of the attachment removed from the manifold.

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section taken on line 66 of Fig. 3.

Reference now being had to the drawings by numerals, 1 indicates a fragment of the upper portion of an internal combustion engine, 2 exhaust manifold, 3 the intake manifold, and 4: the carburetor. These parts are not peculiar to thisinvention and may be of any construction. v

The hot-spot attachment as shown consists of a body portion 5, preferably of cast metal. Corrugations or flutes 6 are provided on the face of the body portion exposed within the manifold or in the path of the gases. Said body portion 5 being also provided with side wall 7, and intermediate wings 8, spaced a small distance apart preferably forming an integral part of the body portion thus providing the maximum radiating surface area to both surfaces of the base plate of the body portion.

A plate 9 is secured, by any preferred means suitable for ready removal, to the side walls to form a hollow inclosure, as shown, in which the wings 8 of the base plate project and around which passages 10 extend. 'The cover'or removable plate 9 may, as shown, be drawn tightly down on a gasket 11 of any appropriate material. to insure a tight joint be tween the parts.

In communication with the interior of the device, preferably at opposite ends thereof are tubes 12 and 13, said tubes being comparatively small. Tube 12 connects the de-' vice with the exhaustmanifold 2, by screw couplings as shown at 14 and 15. Leading from the device to any source of exhaust is the tube 13, mounted in the device as shown at 16, preferably at a point remote from the inlet tube coupling 14.

In the manufacture of manifolds, this device can, with the exception of the plate and gasket 9 and 11 and the tubes 12 and 13, be formed integral with the manifold. If on the other hand the device is to be applied to the present manifold, it is only necessary'to out anopening in the manifold as shown at 17, in which the device may be inserted and welded in place as is shown in the drawings. It having been found, however, through experience, that in applying the device to certain makes of motors it expedites the change,

Where they are made in great numbers to have extra parts, which may be handled in the shop and when an application of the device is desired, the parts of the engine are removed 5 and those to which the device has been applied are attached to the engine. In this way an application of the device to a motor may be accomplished in a very short space of time. The operation of the device is obvious and provides for the passage of a portion of the exhaust gases from the motor, through the de-- vice, said device having a base, the outersurface of which forms a portion of the inner surface of the manifold, with which the gases on their way from the carburetor to the motor, come into contact, said base being provided with wings 8 to absorb and transfer said heat to the base, from which it is absorbed by the gases. The base on its manifold side, being provided with ribs or corrugations, which induce the maximum radiation and transfer of heat to the gases as they are drawn past said corrugation.

It is noted that an endeavor has been'made to maintain a high temperature in the chamher with as little consumption of exhaust gases, as is possible, for the reason that the smaller the proportion of the gases taken from the exhaust manifold, the less the inter- 3 ference, or back pressure to the motor. Again, it maybe noted that the device oper ates somewhat better, if the tube 12 is slightly larger than the tube 1.3, it being thought that the slight choking of the exhaust gases on their way through the device aids the operation.

Having 7 described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

The combination with a motor having an intake and an exhaust manifold, of a hot spot comprising a casing its interior entirely segregated from the interior of the intake manifold, having a rear wall adapted to be mounted in and close an opening in a wall of the intake manifolchheat radiating flutes arranged on the outer face of the rear wall of the casing and extending into the manifold in the path of the fuel through the manifold, 5 a plurality of heat-absorbing wings mounted within the casing of less width and length than the interior of the casing to provide gas passages arranged about the sides and three edges of said wings, an inlet opening in the casing in communication through pipe connection with the exhaust manifold for conveying heat to said Wings and transfer by radiation to said flutes, an outlet opening from the casing remote from the inlet opening and e0 means for cleaning the casing without removing it from the manifold.

DOUGLAS C. SOWELL. 

